GuerrilLA Gardering Ridazz
Thread started by
exavier at 04.8.09 - 10:30 am
Through out Los Angeles we all see empty thrashed up lots. well lets do something about it. lets start a midnight Guerrilla gardenazz... with as many as ten ridazz we can all clean up, plant and maintain gardens.so what do you say?
im as new to this as you.
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plant some herbal plants ;) i hear they are easy to grow
66604.8.09 - 10:49 am
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and veggies. everyone loves veggies.
exavier04.8.09 - 10:56 am
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666 and theladysman ill keep you updated with the ideas. ideas become actions at some point. thanks for the interest.
exavier04.8.09 - 11:30 am
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this sounds like a terrific idea. I am fully down to explore the possibilities here. I don't really have any skills as of now but I've got 2 hands and a head on my shoulders. I figure that should be enough to start out
hybrid rida04.8.09 - 12:24 pm
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count me in. there are a ton of free dirt listings on craigslist.
farmlab may even have plants or flats they can donate that are ready to be planted.
barleye04.8.09 - 12:39 pm
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i also am down. gardens are good for the soul and imagine if the plants actually yielded!
email me if there is a list. atomfarm(at)gmail.com
Aqueous Atom04.8.09 - 12:49 pm
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i'm in. used to work at an organic garden in oregon so i have some experience.
brassknuckle04.8.09 - 12:56 pm
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Mixte,
How come that dude at the top isn't hearing a helmet? Is he some swome or something?
User104.8.09 - 12:58 pm
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those empty lots do belong to someone don't they.
we would have to purchase it.
but if so i'm down.
i know places that can teach us for free and even help us out.
aksendz04.8.09 - 3:32 pm
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fuck that. this is guerrilla. night time missions. how awesome would it be to get a shitload of people to do it, get stuff donated, and then one night hit an empty lot and beautify it. Image walking past it one day and it's covered in litter etc.., and then the next day you stroll by and it's a beautiful garden.
brassknuckle04.8.09 - 3:40 pm
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@brass - yeah!
this guerilla gardening son, no purchase necessary.
power to the people!
bump
Aqueous Atom04.8.09 - 4:01 pm
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and then the next day it is destroyed by the land owner
aksendz04.8.09 - 4:14 pm
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Dude, I'm down for guerilla gardening. I'd like to recommend native species, as they can take drought a lot better. Though people might just think they're weeds.. :
dusky04.8.09 - 5:01 pm
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I would be down for this... Good idea... I also have a bit of gardening experience...
Rogue Rida04.8.09 - 5:05 pm
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yes!
i will get my info from Brassknuckles at home as I don't go online much but would love to be a part of this
-e-
Kakihara04.8.09 - 5:55 pm
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and then the next day it is destroyed by the land owner
aksendz
04.8.09 - 7:14 pm
That's the attitude! Forget the whole thing cause a land owner might not want his shitty land turned into a garden.
Eff that. Guerillas don't ask permission. Gorillas eat permission (not sure what that means)
But seriously, if derelict land has been sitting for months or years in apathy, do you really think the land owner even gives a shit about it to begin with?
Aqueous Atom04.8.09 - 6:02 pm
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hey i'm all for this grassroots gardening
bad pun
i think it is great. but who gives us any of the right to mess with somsones else's property?
I'm down for public lands like parks but not lots.
and if we really wanted to do this, we can always petitions and would probably get huge support for a local garden. its every politicians wet dream.
aksendz04.8.09 - 6:51 pm
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aksendz, I am touched by your concern for the rights of absentee land speculators. Rest assured that their natural right to hoard land without regard for their neighbors or the environment will be accorded every bit of the respect that it deserves.
PC04.8.09 - 9:55 pm
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+1 PC, always.
i've actually been thinking about this for a while. i've started planting in the strip next to the bike path by my house. there were a hell of a lot of weeds, so i had to buy some gardening tools. with a couple of hands, we can really revitalize some of the overgrown areas around town.
while the guerilla gardening website recommends a lot of flower varieties, i'm most interested in planting edible plants and flowers. i've had some luck planting nasturshums and radishes. it would be great if we could start some peppers and herbs, maybe some potatoes?
my dream is a sort of public recession garden for low-income people. its great to see so many people down for the cause. we can each carry a tool: shovel, pick, pole, trowel. let's do this shit!
tortuga_veloce04.8.09 - 11:52 pm
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we need a facebook page and a google group. is there one yet?
tortuga_veloce04.8.09 - 11:57 pm
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This doesn't quite fit but combines the ideas of edible plants in more locations with the ideals of askends' respect for property rights.
The westside permies are sponsoring the Gardens of Gratitude event on May 16 and 17. They are attempting to get 100 gardens started in yards and balconies that weekend by bringing together people who want to garden with people who have space to garden.
It supposedly was somewhat inspired by PARKing Day LA in which groups all over the city take back the parkingspots on the streets and turn them into mini-parks for the day.
So if you and some friends want to garden, contact your neighbor with a yard or a balcony and convince them to let you help them start one!
http://www.gardensofgratitude.com/
http://westsidepermies.ning.com/
gregb04.9.09 - 12:16 am
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PC, why would they take care of land that will be dug up and htat spaced used for development.
what I dont want to happen is that we have make an awesome community garden. someone buys the land and then we are their.
then their is stupid socio political drama about the people, and the bourgeoise, and fighting about what is right and shit.
plus, if someone gets hurt guess who gets to pay the bill, landowners. if we are caught trespassing, gets who goes to jail or fined?
i am a romantic myself but there are times where you have to step back and do it right.
i say we buy alot of land. i'll pitch in as most as we can. plus we could have neighborhoods, politicans, and business backing us if we are more legit.
i say, we buy some land. i'll contribute as much as i can to it!
aksendz04.9.09 - 12:46 am
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Yeah, we sure wouldn't want any of that "fighting about what is right and shit" in an activity that has the word
guerilla in the title.
Hey, but I sure won't dispute your claim to be romantic. I don't know if you've checked Zillow lately, kid, but land in Los Angeles still costs a little bit more than Tecate and colored chalk. So if you think for a minute that "we" can buy up a "bunch of land," with or without the backing of "business" (have you noticed that there's a recession on?), then fuckin' A you're a romantic. Absolutely, kiddo. You're more romantic than Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Samuel Taylor Coleridge sodomizing each other on a bed of opium and lilies while listening to Morrisey. Jesus fucking God.
Anyway, I'm in if this happens. Um, just as a heads up, we will probably want to use this forum to generate interest but do the coordination someplace more private...
PC04.9.09 - 3:18 am
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but thats the thing.
who says what we are doing is right
who gave us a right to impose things on others
Urban Gardening is not new. LA already has a gardening org.
where they teach people to grow self sustainable organic gardens
but you don't see them hijacking empty lots.
instead they offer help for any space of land you have
so before you get a lot of land, start with your backyard.
aksendz04.9.09 - 9:04 am
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at the same time it's about taking an eyesore in the community and making it look nice. so what if it gets destroyed at some point. for the time being, we don't have to look at an empty lot strewn with trash. I've seen lots all over the place that have been there for years just accumulating trash and graffiti. My dad used to own one of the lots. He hated it. Couldn't sell it, couldn't afford to build on it, was forced by the city to put up a fence because of drug dealing on it, and then he started getting fined because people just threw trash over the fence. Not all of these land owners care about their property. They very well may be in the same boat my dad was.
brassknuckle04.9.09 - 9:14 am
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thanks everyone for the feed back. im gonna start a gmail group for all of us to use.
for those still not understading guerrilla gardening. its a collective. we invaded empty lots and plant veggie and herbs. all this with the help of no form of authorities.
no politics.
all collectively run.
exavier04.9.09 - 9:34 am
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In order to make this happen, you have to balance romantic ideas with realistic ones.
I think it's a great idea, and it would help the idea come to fruition if everyone who is passionate about making this work talks to/reads about guerrilla gardening in LA to pick the right place to do it.
If doing it in the middle of the night in a random lot doesn't sound like a good idea to you, just participate with the gardeners who organize during the day. :D either way everyone wins!
safari04.9.09 - 9:35 am
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Admittedly, it is a little ballzy. When I was gardening across from my place, a lot of people said that what I was doing was great, and only one person started asking pointed questions, but I quickly got her to cool off. Read up on the history there's a nice LA Times article floating around. I've already started in my backyard, and my arugula is almost ready. Right now is the best time for planting tho, so start saving your tomato seeds. I've also got a great idea for planting on rooftops using free planters and craigslist dirt.
tortuga_veloce04.9.09 - 10:17 am
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the gmail groups is up. who ever is interested and serious. we can all make the ideas into action.
guerrilla-ridazz@googlegroups.com
exavier04.9.09 - 10:19 am
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give me your emailssssss people.
the gmail groups is up. who ever is interested and serious. we can all make the ideas into action.
guerrilla-ridazz@googlegroups.com
exavier04.9.09 - 11:11 am
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Talking about this in general is romantic. We need to DO. There are obviously two heavily contrasting points of view on the methods this Guerrilla Gardening group will execute for urban tillage. If you want to urban garden with permits, by all means, go for it - it just seems that
GuerrilLA Gardening Ridazz has an obvious MO (that being sans permits under cover of nightshade).
There are some
massive empty lots in LA. It takes
ALOT, let me reiterate, a CRAPLOAD of time and energy to prepare the soil to begin with. Preparation for gardening is a huge percentage of the actual work. I've worked in a garden growing up for years and the space we used was no more than 20ft by 10ft. With 3 or 4 people, it was definitely intense manual labor. Take the square footage of your house (in relation to an empty lot), multiply it by 2 or 3 and think about farming that whole thing. Not gunna happen.
With 10 or so people and the proper equipment we could definitely get a portion of land prepped in a day or two.
On top of that, if this land is intended to yield actual food, we must add material to the most likely raped soil that is currently in said abandoned lot. For every 100 sq. feet of garden add: 20 cubic feet of organic compost, 2 lbs. of bat or seabird guano, 2 lbs of rock or Super Phosphate, 10 lbs of gypsum or lime, 2 lbs of Green Sand, 2lbs of kelp meal.
If the intended purpose is to beauify and clean up with some posies and wildflowers, then that is another story, and most likely a good starting point to begin with and see how we all work together.
That being said, lets meet in person and see who actually is down for some manual labor.
end transmission.
Aqueous Atom04.9.09 - 11:26 am
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@ Aqueous Atom when and were do we meet.
exavier04.9.09 - 11:30 am
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check it out
laguerrillagarden.org
exavier04.9.09 - 11:33 am
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I've only seen one in action and some of you may remember it as being right behind AGLAGO. To plant veggies, yes, it's a HELL OF A LOT OF WORK AND PREPARATION. I was thinking planting succulants, flowers, pulling weeds, generally making spots not be an eyesore.
The aglago adjacent spot grew carrots, tomatoes, eggplant, various varieties of lettuce, and some tasty green beans.
We will need tons of water....That will be the biggest obstacle unless we have a water hose very nearby to the spots.
one spot to get our feet wet is the approx. 5 x 5 spots on sidewalks at the junction with a tree in the middle....a lot of them are filled with crappy dirt, cig butts, and just trash and shitty looking rocks....going out there late at night we can restore these little areas. if anyone has access to bricks, that could be a nice frame for these little areas.
barleye04.9.09 - 11:42 am
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"You're more romantic than Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Samuel Taylor Coleridge sodomizing each other on a bed of opium and lilies while listening to Morrisey."
+10
danya04.9.09 - 11:42 am
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karthryn miller was a pioneer of the gurrilla gardening thing.
aside from the problem of water (or lack there of,) repropreating unused spaces also carries the risk of stumbleing upon a superfund-like lot, full of toxic badness.
housemates and I tried to clean up a lot next to our building back east last year only to discover asphalt 3 feet down in every spot and nasty chemicals.
newarkhouse04.9.09 - 11:51 am
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sodomizing each other on a bed of opium and lilies while listening to Morrisey."
hope you know this has nothing to do with romanticism.
I wish you guys the best
but i won't be surprised if nothing happens
lawncrusaders@gmail.com
these guys teach people and actually supply community garden efforts.
i strongly think you guys should contact them before doing anything.
aksendz04.9.09 - 11:52 am
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theres an empty lot on the side of n. hill st.. were it turns into the 110 on ramp. near chatheral high. that place is a nice size we can ride and scoop out the spot. look for water faucets etc. etc.
exavier04.9.09 - 11:55 am
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i have a friend at aglago and he suggested that we sprout the seeds now. it is spring and it will make it easyer on all of use. and the seed will have a better chance of surviving.
exavier04.9.09 - 12:59 pm
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Why don't you guys just join the LA forum that is already established? Also join the gardeners that have been doing this might not be such a bad idea either. You guys would be hitting the ground running, sort a speak. The gardeners can show you the ropes, sort a speak, and you'll be able to fly the coup, sort a speak, faster.
LA GuerrillaGardening.org Community
I kinda like shooting for public space for gardening projects myself. This eliminates the problems with a private owner, and can lead to a permanent solution. You may want to bounce your ideas off Ari at
Islands of LA. He's pretty well versed in public land issues and the reinterpretation of it's use.
User104.9.09 - 1:29 pm
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If we plant natives, we will be planting food. Bees, birds, and butterflies gotta eat too.
PC04.9.09 - 1:34 pm
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Agreeing with Barleye and PC - I have a bunch of succulents in my yard, it might take a little while but I can start up cuttings/propagate them. Natives would be a really great thing, mayhaps california poppies and other dought resistant varitieties. And for those against 'invading' private property/lots, guerrilla gardening also involves median strips, bare dirt around city trees, all of which are actually public property.
dusky04.9.09 - 2:27 pm
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+1 user 1
and ya. i'm all for public land usage
aksendz04.9.09 - 6:20 pm
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definitely. drought-resistant is a must. as far as food crops, there are plenty of drought-resistant foods that are also very pretty. peppers or nasturshum flowers would need little care and would be great supplemental dietary foods.
as far as crops that require water, the bike path near my house is totally overgrown with weeds, but has an active sprinkler system. i put in some nasturshums and they're thriving. i think im going to add some hot peppers to the sandy area and maybe some corn, melons and a few other crops to the clay-rich soil.
tortuga_veloce04.10.09 - 11:06 am
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but native plants and flowers would definitely be the majority of the planting. i'm just focused on making our work as utilitarian as practicable. that said, a garden of nasturshums and peppers would look kinda crappy.
tortuga_veloce04.10.09 - 11:08 am
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within the next few days im gonna start sprouding the seeds. it will make everything easyer. ill keep you all updated.
exavier04.10.09 - 1:37 pm
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what y'all know about SEED BOMBS?
Sounds like a job for CRAFT CRAFT CRAFT CLUB
tortuga_veloce04.10.09 - 3:19 pm
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I'm so down with this idea. But Rome wasn't built overnight. Beautification of a vacant lot sounds more feasible for a first attempt. We can roll in and out a lot quicker doing this. And all those pansies concerned about permits and and growing whirled peas and shit didn't read the "guerrilla" part of the memo. It would take a real dick to bust your balls for making a dirt lot look nice. On the other hand, getting busted for making a neglected lot look nice would more than likely be supported by the general public and would gain their support because we all know living in this town there is no such thing as bad publicity. It would also cost next nothing and require fewer tools to do too. Sounds more appealing to a bunch of hooligans riding around on bicycles in the middle of the night then to hassle with soil, fertilizers, seedlings, water sources and so on.
my 2 cents
str8cruzin04.10.09 - 11:45 pm
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...so where do I sign up? It said guerrilla-ridazz@googlegroups.com doesn't exist when I emailed my info.
str8cruzin04.10.09 - 11:49 pm
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seed balls/bombs do not work in LA, really, unless it's a spot watered by runoff, mistake, or the like. i have tried them with veggies and native plants. no luck, really. our rainy season is over, and the chances of food crops growing without watering are super low. a lot of things that might grow on their own are likely to be considered invasive species, so we gotta be careful. all this being said, i love the plan and i'd love to try. something that grows really well around here (westside, at least) are nasturtiums, which are spicy edible flowers. they grow fast and the seeds do not even need to be buried. succulents are good too, as they can easily be grown from cuttings (or oops did i pull that off), don't need to be buried deeply in the soil, and can live off moisture in the air 'round these parts. that's my 2 cents.
amy04.11.09 - 8:12 pm
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There's a gardening event going on this weekend, sat 8am, for those that want to get a feel for what this is all about. It's next to the LA river trail and it's less than a mile from the willow stop on the blue line.
http://socalguerrillagardening.org/
I would go for it since it's down the street for me, but I'll be in SF.
User104.22.09 - 4:55 pm
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put me on that list por favor if you guys have a list.
mtpisces@gmail.com.
I have been trying to convince my better 1/2 to allow me to build a "little" garden on her roof.
pretti*ugli04.22.09 - 5:11 pm
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THERE IS NOW A GOOGLE GROUP. THIS IS HAPPENING!
Homepage: http://groups.google.com/group/guerilla-gardenazz
Group email: guerilla-gardenazz@googlegroups.com
I saw some neato stuff they're doing at farmlab involving portable wooden bins. basically, they're like portable gardens so that if you need to move across town, you can bring your garden with you. i'd love to do some "semi-permanent" agriculture like that around the westside. right now i've maxed out the dirt in my backyard and will be moving on to plastic pots, garbage cans and wooden crates.
please join the group if interested.
tortuga_veloce05.10.09 - 11:49 pm
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i want to be in on this - but can someone add an extra day to my week? I have some succulents that i've been clipping and re-potting too. it would be easy for me to have some more soon. succulents are GREAT because they are drought-resistant plants, which there should be more of in this city of stolen water.
kryxtanicole05.11.09 - 4:05 pm
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Who's the mod of this google group?
User105.11.09 - 4:31 pm
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Anyone know where to find a map of public fruit around Venice, Mar-Vista, Santa Monica?
0gravity05.19.09 - 10:51 am
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You want to start out looking at Fallen Fruit,
http://www.fallenfruit.org/manifesto.html
http://www.newangelesmonthly.com/article.php?id=200&IssueNum=16
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallen_fruit
User1 responding to a
comment by 0gravity
05.19.09 - 11:38 am
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I have kickass mandarine, lemon, and orange trees a few blocks from my house. every time i walk my dogs around there I started bringing a backpack and grab whatever i can.
barleye responding to a
comment by 0gravity
05.19.09 - 12:58 pm
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I thought this might interest you guys. ITS FREE.This is not exactly guerilla gardening. But it is about the beautification of our neighborhoods. We just got a bunch of flyers and applications for the Community Beautification Grant, at the library I work at. You can receive up to $10,000 for your community group. There will be free 90min.workshops that will inform you how to apply. The workshops will be held at some of your local libraries August-September. Check it out! The deadline is 10-20-09.
You can check out some of the previous projects here is the info.
www.CBGrant.org you can request applications at 213-978-0226
irma08.15.09 - 10:48 am
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There are websites like
http://gardenswap.org that bring together people who want to garden with people who have gardening space.
Anyone who thinks they can grow food without water in LA is a moron and/or has never farmed/gardened before. Not everything you read in Portland zines can be "transplanted" here in the desert.
Guerilla actions are sexy and everything but they are also meant to be quick in and out deals. Farming is not quick. It's months/years long process.
Food not Lawns has the right idea by transforming land that gows something useless to growing something useful.
@PC your "property is theft" comments made me chuckle. Reminded me the days before I was a fat capitalist pig and I was a skinny kid in skinny pants. I was 26 years old and a bike messenger. That's when I bought my first piece of land with $1,500 down and $100/mo payments . I had this dream that I would live off the grid and not be beholden to the man.
I still own that land. It's by the Radio Tower in Montecito Heights. You are welcome to farm on it. And no, it has no water, shade or electricity. Not even friendly neighbors.
marino08.15.09 - 1:35 pm
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This thread is too long for me to read on my lunch break but hopefully it hasn't been hijacked.
I think the best thing for a midnight ridazz guerilla gardening ride is to make a bunch of seed bombs, ride a route through lots of dirtfilled lots and bomb em. We don't have to worry about hauling potted plants and tools around; seed bombs lay dorment untill natural rain then hopefully one of the many seeds inside take root
sshagy08.15.09 - 3:47 pm
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where to get clay..... for free ? it's clay & compost right?
mechazawa08.15.09 - 6:44 pm
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Replying to the Fallen Fruit recommendation. Last weekend I went to each and every fallen fruit location on the map they have for the silverlake, echo park and larchment area. I love the concept, but unfortunately it was a bust. The map shows tons of peach, fig, orange, avocado, pomegranite trees etc., but of the whole mission, I came home with literally 2 figs. I have never worked so hard for 2 half chewed pieces of fruit that I didn't eat in my life. I literally scaled a 6 foot brick wall (with a boost from a friend) and then a 5 foot chain link fence over that, because the house was on a hill and finally I get up there, and realize the beetles have already half devoured the figs. I didn't want them at that point, but I was already up there, I wanted something to show for it. All the other trees we hit up were either diseased (fruits covered with aphids, etc), half eaten from the squirrels or just plain bare, probably taken from every other person checking out fallenfruit.org. Before this, I was going to try to make a fallen fruit map for the westside, because I live in Venice, but F that, I'll just share the info with friends, otherwise those trees will be bare too! ha ha
Lady Sadie08.15.09 - 11:16 pm
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